Production Manager - Protein

As the Production Manager, you will play a key role in leading all aspects of dairy manufacturing operations to deliver safe, high-quality and cost-effective production outcomes. Responsible for the overall performance of the production plant, you will drive operational excellence, continuous improvement, people leadership and strategic initiatives that support both site objectives and long-term business goals. Reporting directly to the Site Operations Manager, you will lead a team of Supervisors, a Technical Trainer and Production Technical Lead, while working closely alongside Maintenance, Quality, Health & Safety, Projects, Automation and HR teams. You will champion a strong safety culture, optimise plant performance, support capability development and foster collaborative relationships across the business to ensure operational success. A bit about you You are an experienced manufacturing leader with proven success leading production teams within a food manufacturing environment. You bring several years of experience driving operational performance, improving efficiencies, managing change and creating high-performing teams that consistently deliver results. With strong commercial awareness, you are confident balancing safety, quality, delivery and cost objectives while maintaining a focus on continuous improvement. You are a collaborative and people-focused leader who enjoys coaching others, building capability and creating a respectful, accountable workplace culture. Your ability to communicate effectively, engage stakeholders and translate strategy into action enables you to drive meaningful outcomes and deliver sustainable improvements across production operations. A bit about the organisation Westland Milk Products is a well-known New Zealand end-to-end dairy manufacturer based in the beautiful South Island, with offices and production facilities in both Christchurch and Hokitika. Our Operations team sits at the heart of our manufacturing business, transforming high-quality New Zealand milk into world-class dairy ingredients and nutritional products supplied to customers around the globe. Through a focus on safety, quality, innovation and continuous improvement, our Operations teams play a critical role in delivering exceptional products and driving business performance. Owned by the Global Top 5 dairy company Yili Group, Westland Milk Products and its related companies in New Zealand, Oceania Dairy (Glenavy), Pure Nutrition (Rolleston), Canary Foods (Hamilton) and EasiYo (Auckland) form a group that we refer to as the Yili Oceania group. The combined business produces over 170,000mt of finished goods which are then exported to over 40 countries, driving annual revenue well in excess of $1.3B – and growing. Applicants must have valid work rights in New Zealand to be considered. #J-18808-Ljbffr